With crow season in full swing, it’s time to do some swinging of our own. Our crow-active clan of shotgunners, Matt Arnold, Shawn Weaver, and I are heading afield for a summer hunt aimed at sharpening our wing shooting skills and reducing the local
population of aerial varmints. As always, experience gained over the years will be called upon but, since none of us has attained a high level of success, new techniques and equipment are always welcome.
Crow in Tilled Field
The calling is handled by the FoxPro FX3, and as long as batteries hold out, no mouth-blown calls are used. It may seem wise to carry a few hand-held calls in case the electronics fail, but in actuality, our crow calling seems to
be the crows’ best defense. For us, it is crow calling for dummies – electronically.
With the calling handled, the only question is which call to use. The two standard calls, which come with the unit, work fine. A fighting call can get the high-flying gangsters to come in fast and in a line as straight “as the crow flies.” Since we typically use a lone decoy, the lack of a frenzied fighting scene in their field of view may cause leaders of the winged brigade to spot the ruse and veer off course. That’s why the call is switched to a lone crow in distress once they begin flight. A single battery-operated, flapping-wing decoy (available at www.crowbusters.com) is all that is necessary, as long as it is placed in an area visible to the flying flock.
Enemies Together
It’s wise to permit the crows to enter the gunning area so that any and all shooters will have a chance. But, thumbing through TheVarmint and Crow Hunter’s Bible by Bert Popowski (1962), a new-to-me technique is worth a try to become a better shot: only one shot to any one crow. Beyond the admiral goal of long runs of clean kills, the psychological effect of knowing that only one shot will be taken, a hunter is more likely to hold and swing properly. Additionally, additional crows may be taken, if within range, rather than skybusting and possibly wounding the quarry.
Shot size is always debated among crow hunters but after talking crows to an expert a few weeks ago, 7 1/2s are getting the nod this time around. And, not the magnum
loads as in the past. It’ll be 1 1/8-ounce heavy field loads in 2 ¾-inch 12- gauge loads for better patterns. The advice included which type of choke to use, as well, and for this September experiment, improved cylinder will be used.
One of the most frustrating parts of missing a shot is not knowing where the errant shot actually went. Most novices will stop the gun before firing and that always adds up to a shot behind the moving target. But just how much lead is enough, if the
swing is constant and on pace with the bird? Once again, leave it to someone who is able to take crows consistently and cleanly with a .410 gauge-shotgun with a mere ½
ounce of shot. He said to swing the gun as they are coming in and when you cover the bird, shoot.
Several factors contribute to good hunting conditions in the August/September season: good cover and plenty of young, uneducated birds. On the other hand, high heat and camouflaged hunting clothing can be unbearable for extended sessions but none of that will stop our trio of scattergunners from getting a jump on the hunting season.
Part II – The Hunt
Our first set was uneventflul and we were just about to leave the edge of a corn field and cut wheat field when a distant crow was heard. Back into action, the call brought in a small number of crows and the action commenced.
Matt and I took a few shots and a couple of black bandits tumbled unceremoniously to the ground amid a few calls coming from Shawn’s direction. “My gun won’t shoot! My gun won’t shoot!” After the set, Shawn had me take my Browning Silver apart so that he could compare my slide assembly to his (we are toting the same guns.) Fortunately for Shawn, it was a simple fix attributable to a bit of improper assembly after he cleaned the gun last time. Off we went to set number two.
This time the menacing marauders came with about a dozen gang members and Shawn was ready to test his “repaired” smoothbore. I could see the formation above the treetops as they descended on the phony commotion. Shawn swung into action and had it raining crows – five to be exact. Sweet redemption!
We took a few more before the heat got to us and called it quits at noon. Our trio of crow busters probably had our best kill to shot ratio yesterday taking ten birds with a minimal amount of shots. A good day for us; not so for the clever crows.
